Teacher - Room 15
Tom Fitisemanu
Kia ora kouto. Welcome to Room 15. I’m Mr. Fitsy.
This is my fifth year of teaching and my third year at Berkley. I hope you are as excited as I am to meet the Tainui team for 2026. It’s going to be an awesome year.
Before I was a teacher, I taught guitar (and sold pants, shoes, fishing equipment, seafood and washed machines). Music has always been a passion of mine and something I am so grateful to share with my students. This combined with my love of sharing knowledge led me to teach.
I can’t think of a better job than mine. I look forward to catching up with my students every morning. I love having a laugh and my students know our class motto, we ‘work hard so we can play hard.’ We definitely put the hard mahi in in our space, but it’s important to me that school is also super fun.
In terms of hobbies… Yes.
Music. I play guitar, sing and produce music. Putting a record on and my phone away is my favourite way to relax at the end of a long day. I’ve been to more concerts and gigs than I can count.
Being in the outdoors is something else I am very passionate about. There is nowhere I would rather be than fishing in my favourite, secret spot, with my dad. Whether it's going for a hike, a kayak, a bash in the boat, a bike mission, or being in the garden, it’s all fun to me.
Throughout the winter, when the weather puts a halt on being outside, I’ll be in the garage. There's always a passion project on the go.
I teach because I love being a part of your learning journey. It means a lot to me to be able to support you throughout this time. This year is going to be so much fun… I hope you have had a nice holiday, because we have work to do.